Jamie Ding won his 28th straight Jeopardy! game on Tuesday's episode, pushing his current earnings to $774,601 and putting him in a class reached by only four previous champions.
The 33-year-old New Jersey-based law student and housing policy administrator has become one of the show's most dominant players in history, trailing only Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio and James Holzhauer on the all-time streak list. The show identifies him as a “bureaucrat and law student,” a label he once joked about himself when he called himself a “faceless bureaucrat” during the contestant interview.
That low-key image has become part of the appeal. Fans have said they are impressed by his humble attitude and understated reactions, and Lonny Starsky said of Ding that “it never comes off as cocky” and that he “almost seems embarrassed when he wins.” Viewers have also noticed his small wave during introductions, and some have begun copying it at home.
Ding has also built a small signature around what he wears. He appears in a shade of orange on every episode, a choice he has said is tied to Princeton University and to the fact that orange is his favorite color. In a conversation with the Philadelphia Inquirer, he said that if a pattern is too busy, it will not look good on TV, and that people who dress for television have to be emotionally prepared to discover random stains or tiny holes they never noticed before.
On Tuesday, the combination of steady play and a carefully managed public image left Ding with a streak that now stands at 28 wins and earnings of $774,601. The next question is no longer whether he belongs among the show's elite. It is how far this run can still go before one of the four players ahead of him finally stops him.